Fresh loans from World Bank to Tunisia and Egypt

Robert Zoellick, the World Bank President, has announced that it will be lending Tunisian US$ 1.5 billion and Egypt US$ 4.5 billion over the next two years.

Robert Zoellick, the World Bank President, has announced that it will be lending Tunisian US$ 1.5 billion and Egypt US$ 4.5 billion over the next two years.

The release of these amounts is linked with the countries’ progress in modernizing their economies in order to generate more opportunities for their populations. Earlier this year, both nations had witnessed protests which resulted in a change of their respective governments.

Zoellick said the Bank will offer US$1 billion to Tunisia as a boost to the budget and investment projects, beyond the US$ 500 million already announced by the international body as part of a US$1.2 billion package that will be offered by the African Development and European donors.

The package will be implemented as a Governance Program and Opportunities. The goal is to encourage Tunisia to pursue freedom of choice, information access, transparency in public processes, improvements in public services and training to unemployed workers.

The Tunisian private sector will receive US$ 400 million from the International Finance Corporation, an entity linked to the World Bank. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee, another subsidiary of the World Bank, will offer Tunisia US$ 100 million in guarantees each year.

Egypt will be provided with US$ 4.5 billion over the next 24 months as part of a package that includes a program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address problems with the budget and international reserves of the country, together funding reforms that promote credit and investment. The goal is to stabilize and modernize the region’s economies.